Blast From The Past
by schizo-nephalim
Summary: When a derelict ship is found drifting through normal space, Babylon 5 rescues it, but can they rescue the sole survivor from depression after nearly two and a half centuries of involuntary cryostasis?
1. Prologue

Blast From The Past

**Disclaimer:** Don't own 'em, just like playing in other people's sandboxes.

**Rating:** T for language, depressing content, government conspiracies, and habitual cutting

**Characters:** Zack Allen, Stephen Franklin, Talia Winters, Amy Steelman (OFC), Jeffrey Sinclair, Susan Ivanova, Michael Garibaldi, Delenn, Lennier, G'Kar, Londo Mollari, Vir Cotto

**Description:** When a derelict ship is found drifting through normal space, Babylon 5 rescues it, but can they rescue the sole survivor from depression after nearly two and a half centuries of cryostasis?

**A/N:** This is the first story of the Amy Steelman saga, so strap in tight! Admittedly, I was influenced by **2:05 "The Long Dark"** but…in my defense, I think it would've been cooler if it had been someone from our time, someone that hadn't been a volunteer, and that's how the whole idea for Amy came about. No big conspiracies about the Shadows yet, but believe me, it's coming. Reviews are love, people!

Prologue

Sergeant Zack Allen stared at the comatose woman through the window inside Medlab, shaking his head. She had been injured before being placed in cryostasis, but none of her injuries had been life threatening, which was a mystery to everyone involved on the station. And the ship she had arrived on was a mystery in itself—there had been several cryotubes, but most of them had malfunctioned and the occupants died. To make matters more confusing, the ship's origin was Earth, circa 2059, but there were no records of the spacecraft in any files on Earth history. Even Earthdome had no files on the craft.

Dr. Franklin cleared his throat, breaking Zack's train of thought as he turned to look at the doctor. He was wearing a strange expression, like amusement and frustration had melded into one.

"Any change, Doc?" The doctor shook his head, but the expression never left his face as he studied the security officer.

"Not yet. I've been keeping her in the coma to prevent her moving too much before her injuries have a chance to heal…somehow, I get the feeling that she won't wake up peacefully when she finds out what year this is."

"Well, two centuries is a long time to be out of it," Zack replied, turning his gaze back to the woman that had occupied his thoughts and his spare time. He had no idea why he was so drawn to her; he had never known anyone that looked remotely like her, and he had no idea what kind of personality she had. All he knew was that she was a puzzle he felt like he had to solve.

"Look, go get some sleep," Dr. Franklin told him, giving Zack a strong cuff on the shoulder. "I'll let you know if there's any changes."

"You'd better," Zack muttered as he watched the doctor enter the room and check her vital signs for what seemed like the millionth time. He watched for a moment longer before turning on his heel and heading back to his quarters to catch some sleep before his next shift. Her ship had arrived nearly two weeks before; there was no way he could describe why he was so interested in her condition, but it had been present since she was first rolled past him by doctors.

As he rode the transport tube to his level, he tried to focus on sleep, but she kept invading his thoughts. Dr. Franklin had told him that morning that he was planning on waking her from the medically induced coma the following day so that her muscles wouldn't atrophy, but he had promised to alert Zack as soon as she was awake. That thought carried him back to his quarters and stayed with him as he showered and got ready for bed.


	2. Chapter One

Chapter One

Zack yawned as he dressed for duty; today was the day Dr. Franklin would wake up the mystery patient, and he was on edge as the possibilities rattled through his head. He hadn't slept well thanks to a series of nightmares that always seemed to feature her, and the sense that all hell was about to break loose when she woke up wouldn't leave him alone.

Sure enough, his link beeped before he even made it to the transport tube. A harried Dr. Franklin was demanding his presence at Medlab; she was awake and had injured two doctors, and nobody could get close enough to sedate her. Zack told him he was on his way and jogged the rest of the distance to the transport tube, then made his way to Medlab, where many of the doctors were waiting outside, along with Talia Winters. She hurried to him and pulled him back a few steps, her expression sad, anxious, and somewhat frightened.

"What's going on, Talia?" he asked quietly. Talia shook her head for a moment, apparently too overcome with emotion to answer immediately.

"She…" the telepath trailed off for a moment, then took a deep breath. "Zack, she's terrified. Everything she was told scared her to death…where she is, the year…she never volunteered for cryostasis. In her time it was still considered science fiction…and the date of her accident was December 02, 2011."

Zack's eyes bulged when he heard this; he opened his mouth to speak, but Talia raised a shaking hand to silence him.

"That's not the worst of it." A strained silence followed as she tried to compose herself, but a tear slipped out as she spoke. "I keep getting images from her—I can block a lot of things, but it's hard to shut out strong emotions…she had children, Zack…a son and two daughters."

A lump formed in his throat at this information. Words had failed Talia at this point, but they were no longer necessary; he could only imagine the grief and the massive pain and sense of loss she had to be feeling right now.

_No wonder she's reacting so violently,_ he thought to himself. _She's in pain and she's lashing out—she doesn't wanna believe what's happening to her._

Zack took a deep breath and swallowed, but the lump refused to budge, and he steeled himself as he walked through the doors into Medlab. The scene was terrible; she was holding the doctors at bay with a small, severely dented metal tray. Two doctors were huddled in the far corner with a third tending to both of them—one had a broken nose, and the other seemed to have a concussion. Dr. Franklin was the only doctor still trying to calm her down, but the fact that there was a syringe close at hand hadn't escaped the woman he faced.

"Back off!" she barked at the doctor, cutting off his steady stream of soothing words. Zack looked at her more closely and noticed her stance; she was keeping her weight on her right leg, clutching the tray in her right hand…her left arm and leg had been broken in the accident she experienced before cryostasis, and she kept the arm close to her and the bad leg slightly behind her. The panic in her eyes was blatantly obvious, but her face only showed hostility.

She looked taller than she had while lying down; he guessed she was about 5'6", but between the effort to keep the doctors away and the state of shock she was in, her fair complexion looked like death warmed over, which was in stark contrast to her dark brown hair and hazel eyes. When she turned her head slightly to look at him, he caught hints of red in her hair.

"It's okay, ma'am," he said quietly, then turned to Dr. Franklin. "Doc, why don't you wait outside? Here," he pulled his holster for his PPG off his hip and gave it to the doctor, feeling her gaze burn through his hands, "take that with you."

For a split second it looked like the doctor was going to protest, but one glance at his patient silenced him. Shaking his head, he walked out the door, leaving Zack alone with the dark-haired woman.

"What's your name?" he asked softly, leaning carefully against a wall. At first he thought she was going to yell at him, but when she finally spoke, her voice was a hoarse whisper.

"Amy." He gave her a small smile.

"Amy," he repeated. "Well Amy, I'm Zack…I'm with station security." His last words made her eyes narrow, and he lifted his hands to show innocence. "It's okay…nobody's gonna hurt you here."

"Bullshit!" she spat out through clenched teeth. He noticed her grip on the tray tighten and fought the impulse to back away.

"I'm sorry, Amy, but it's true."

"I have a _**FAMILY**_!" she shrieked at him, and the hostile exterior crumbled before his eyes. "I've got a son and two daughters—they _**NEED**_ me!"

Her outburst left him speechless; even with Talia's warning, the pain and grief suddenly radiating from her threw him off-balance.

"And you're telling me that the year is 2258? That they're gone?" she whispered, her voice breaking as tears welled up in her eyes. "No…"

Zack rushed to her side and caught her just before her knees hit the floor. Her tears fell thick and fast as she dropped the tray, oblivious to the clatter it made when it hit the floor.

"_**NO!"**_ she screamed, burying her face in Zack's shoulder as sobs wracked her body. He held her close, rocking her back and forth as she cried, smoothing the dark hair back from her face with one hand. In the corner of his eye, he saw Dr. Franklin walk back in and reach for the sedative, but Zack waved him back with one hand.

He held her until she cried herself out and slowly pulled out of his arms, sniffling and wiping the tears from her face. Her eyes were puffy and bloodshot, but the pain they revealed made the lump in his throat seem to grow bigger.

"Come on, you need your rest," he said gently as he helped her back to her feet; she wobbled for a moment as she struggled to regain her one-legged balance.

As he helped her back into the bed she had vacated, the look in her eyes became distant, haunted. He had seen that look in some of the post-trauma veterans of the Minbari War, and it made him feel even sorrier for her.

"Look, I have to report for duty, but I'll check in on you later, okay?" he told her softly, taking her hand in his. To his mingled relief and pain, her only response was to nod before rolling onto her side, her back to him.

Zack stared at her for a moment longer, then walked out to report in for duty. As he rode the transport tube, he couldn't get the image of Amy's haunted eyes out of his mind. The entire situation sounded impossible, but there was something in the raw emotion she displayed, the undeniably genuine pain and grief, that made him believe her—even without taking Talia's words into account.


	3. Chapter Two

Chapter Two

"How's she doing, Doc?" Dr. Franklin let out a sigh and turned to look at Zack, who seemed to have taken it upon himself to act as her next-of-kin since she had first gained consciousness that morning.

"Physically, I'd say she'll probably make a full recovery. Mentally, though…that's harder to say, but that's not my area of expertise. I'm treating her for shock and I've put her on suicide watch," the doctor whispered to him.

"Suicide watch?" Zack echoed incredulously, somehow managing to keep his voice quiet even though he felt like shouting. "Why? Has she tried to hurt herself?" The doctor shook his head.

"Not yet—it's more of a precaution right now, but I'm really concerned. She's been muttering to herself, saying 'I shouldn't be alive' and a lot of things like that. Given her situation, I'm not really surprised she feels that way."

Hearing this did nothing to soothe Zack's nerves; he rubbed the back of his neck nervously, staring through the window into the room where Amy was lying down. At the moment she was sleeping, and the security officer felt slightly relieved to see that some of the pain had eased from her face.

"How long will she have to stay here in Medlab?" Zack asked. This brought an uncomfortable squirm out of the doctor as he studied her chart.

"Well…that's actually a bit of a problem," Dr. Franklin admitted, avoiding Zack's eyes by turning his own to the patient. "With the Narn colonies and outposts being attacked, we need all the space we can get for the wounded that keep coming in, but I don't want to release her in her current frame of mind."

While the security officer was searching for a reply, he looked up and saw that Amy's eyes were open and turned in his direction. Ignoring the doctor's quiet protests, he walked in the room and gently took her hand in his.

"Hey," she mumbled, struggling to pull herself into a sitting position.

"Easy," Zack whispered as he helped her up, studying her intently. She had lost the look of blind panic she had worn that morning, but in its place a whirlwind of emotions had settled in—pain, loss, grief, shock, disbelief, and others he couldn't identify. She closed her eyes for several moments before looking at him again.

"Get me outta here," she said quietly, her voice too low for anyone else to hear. He met her gaze again, and her eyes begged him to help her, speaking volumes without words; she needed this for the sake of her pain, her grief—her sanity.

"I'll talk to Dr. Franklin," he promised her, squeezing her hand slightly before letting go. For a moment, he wondered how she could possibly trust him so implicitly—that she would be so willing to put herself at the mercy of a complete stranger—before he saw the utter emptiness in her eyes. A shudder ran through his spine as the truth hit him with the force of a fusion bomb; it wasn't that she trusted him…she just didn't care.


	4. Chapter Three

**A/N:** WOW! In the few months I've been posting stories here, I've never had one of my stories hit such a high story count so fast or gotten so many reviews so quickly! You guys are awesome! Anyway, I figured the drama and angst have been getting a bit out of hand, and I know there's gonna be a lot more before this story ends, but I decided to put a little comic relief in this chapter to lighten the mood. Thanks to everyone who's reviewed, you totally made my week! And to the anonymous guest who reviewed the previous chapter, yes, Zack will eventually get the girl, but he's not so scummy and low as to make a move on her in her current state. Have fun, everyone!

Chapter Three

Two hours had passed before Amy was finally released from Medlab. Dr. Franklin had insisted on giving her pain medication to Zack, flatly refusing to allow her to administer it to herself. She had taken the instructions and orders without any protest, which only made the security officer worry about her state of mind even more, then followed him out of Medlab, awkwardly handling her single crutch and two limbs in casts. It wasn't until they were inside the transport tubes that she finally spoke.

"I get it, you know." Zack looked at her, confused.

"What do you mean?" She sighed heavily and looked down, her expression sad yet strangely calm.

"That doctor thinks I'll try to OD," she said simply, then looked up to meet his gaze. The corners of her mouth twitched at the look of concern he wore. "It's not the first time I've had someone handle me like I'm made of glass, you know."

"So…what happened before?" he asked softly, his curiosity mingling with the concern of what horrors her past held. Before she could answer, the doors opened, and she followed him silently to his quarters, where, for the time being, she would be staying as well. After she settled down on the couch, she motioned to him to sit and took a deep breath.

"Josh…he was more my oldest brother's friend than mine, but he was like a brother to me too. It was when my little brother died…I didn't have to say anything for him to know where my mind was. If I needed medicine for a headache, he got it for me himself. Hell, he wouldn't let me touch anything sharper than a butter knife for weeks…so yeah, I know the drill," she finished, looking down at her hands as she spoke.

The silence that followed seemed like a physical weight on Zack, and he took the opportunity to really look at her. Her appearance was a paradox in itself; in a way, the grief and pain made her seem old—but at the same time, the loss made her look extremely young. It was then that he realized he had no idea how old she was, then caught himself wondering why her age even mattered.

"How long has it been?" he heard himself asking. She shook her head, still staring at her hands.

"Ten years…he died exactly two weeks after my sixteenth birthday. It was a car accident," she added, finally looking at him again with fresh tears welling up in her eyes. "He'd just turned seven the month before."

All Zack could do was take her hand and squeeze it reassuringly. Words were lost on him as he tried to imagine the pain that loss has caused her, but after a moment he knew that he never could. It took several moments, but she finally sniffled and brushed the tears away from her eyes with her free hand.

"I need to lay down," she said quietly, squeezing his hand before pulling away. "Can you get me a pillow and blanket?"

"No, but I can let you sleep in the bed," he replied as he stood up, then leaned down to pull her to her feet. However, she pulled away again.

"Come on Zack, I'm the guest here…I'm not putting you out of your own bed."

"You're not—I'm offering."

"And I'm refusing—the couch is fine for me."

"You're injured-"

"It's not my bed-"

"Just take it!"

"No!"

The chime from the door effectively interrupted their spat, and Zack turned away from Amy for the first time to look at the door.

"Who is it?" he asked, his voice slightly louder than what he normally used.

"Commander Sinclair and Lieutenant Commander Ivanova," a male voice answered, making the security officer's eyes widen as he jumped to his feet.

"Come in," he said quickly. The door opened at his invitation, and Amy looked up to see a man and a woman in uniform walk in. After a few whispered words between them and Zack, they looked at her and the man gave a small smile.

"Commander Jeffrey Sinclair," he introduced himself, leaning down and reaching his hand to her, which she shook hesitantly before quickly letting go. "I'm in charge of Babylon 5. This is my second, Lieutenant Commander Susan Ivanova."

Ivanova shook Amy's hand as well, and she noticed her stance was much more formal and rigid than her senior officer's. She had a presence that demanded respect, and gut instinct told Amy that she had done more than enough to earn it. She turned her attention back to Sinclair.

"Amy Steelman," she informed them. The atmosphere of the room suddenly changed, and both Zack and Amy had a sneaking suspicion that they hadn't come just to introduce themselves out of simple good will.

They were right; they had extended their sympathies for her plight, then they had also asked for any information she could give them; her full name, her birth date, names and birth dates of all her family members, her hometown, her high school and graduation date, and any other information that she could provide. She told them everything, not knowing or caring why her past mattered to the commander.

As the questioning continued, Amy's temporary numbness began to fade; even though he barely knew her, Zack could see her calm exterior starting to crack from the strain of now-painful memories being dragged to the surface. Seizing the opportunity at a lull in the conversation, he stood up and faced the commander.

"Sir, I don't mean to interrupt, but Amy was getting ready to lay down when you arrived, and…" he trailed off as Commander Sinclair nodded his understanding.

"Of course…I can't understand how difficult this must be for you, Miss Steelman-"

"Amy," she interrupted, pinching the bridge of her nose with her good hand. "I'm younger than you, and I'm hardly an important person."

"Apparently someone thought so," Lieutenant Commander Ivanova chimed in, her tone making her meaning obvious—someone had chosen her for cryostasis, regardless of their reasons. It certainly didn't make Zack feel better.

"Come on," he said gently to her, taking her hand to help her up. However, she yanked it back.

"I told you, the couch is fine," she grumbled, laying her crutch down beside the couch and stubbornly crossing her arms in front of her chest, wincing when the movement caused pain to shoot through her left arm.

"Look, it's my quarters and I can decide to let an injured guest sleep in my bed," he started before the female officer cut in.

"Amy, you're going to allow Zack the courtesy of being nice to you and take the better accommodations—that's an order." To everyone's surprise, Amy pulled herself to her feet without assistance and gave a full military salute.

"Yes, ma'am," was the reply, stone-faced and completely without humor. A look was shared between the three others in the room before Ivanova returned the salute, after which Amy stood at attention.

"Did you ever serve?" Sinclair asked. She glanced at him before resuming her stance.

"Just long enough to learn respect, sir…United States Army, stationed at Fort Jackson, South Carolina, September 29, 2004 to November 1, 2004."

"Why were you discharged?" The question brought a strange reaction from her…she gave a smile for just a moment, then it wavered as her eyes watered.

"I only found out after I enlisted and arrived on the base that I was pregnant with my middle daughter." Her blatant honesty, combined with the tells of emotion that broke through her mask of apathy, softened the Lieutenant Commander more than anything else thus far, and she picked up the crutch and handed it to the younger woman.

"As you were," Ivanova said gently, then nodded at Zack, who helped her toward the bedroom. After she was settled, he returned to the living room—taking care to close the door behind him—to find the other two waiting for him. "So, what do you make of her?"

"I feel horrible for her," the security officer replied honestly, keeping his voice quiet. "I'm no telepath, but there's no way in hell anyone can fake what she's gone through…the one thing I wanna know is why? Why her?"

"Whatever the reason, we need to find out what it is," Sinclair chimed in quietly, his tone sincere yet edged with determination.

"When you find out what, be sure to let me know!" an annoyed voice called from the bedroom, making all three jump in surprise and chagrin as they realized that Amy had heard their conversation. After a moment of uncomfortable silence, Sinclair and Ivanova nodded to Zack and took their leave, which left him alone in the room. In an act that was far braver than he felt, he walked into the bedroom to find Amy lying in bed, staring at the wall with a lost expression.

"So…how you holding up so far?" he asked, feeling completely out of his element. To his surprise, she chuckled.

"At least people haven't changed that much…always the same stupid questions," she muttered. He chuckled at her words as well, but it quickly died in his throat as he saw tears building in her eyes again. Almost unconsciously, his hand went to his pocket, where he'd put her medications. It wasn't time for her pain meds, but…

"You know, Dr. Franklin gave me a sedative for you, if you needed it," he began, but the offer hit a brick wall when she shook her head.

"I don't wanna be drugged up…pain's better than feeling nothing," was the broken reply as she buried her face in the pillow and started crying again.


	5. Chapter Four

**A/N:** Hmmm...what's that, little plot bunny? A twist, huh? Sounds good to me! You're such a good little plot bunny...so well-fed and happy from the reviews...let's keep you that way, okay?

Chapter Four

Zack and Amy walked into Sinclair's office in silence. Despite the late hour, the commander had called them and told them he needed to speak to them right away, so they had arrived to find him sitting at his desk with a grim expression.

"Thank you for coming," he told them, indicating for them to sit in the chairs in front of his desk. Once they were seated, the commander leaned back in his chair. "I apologize for the late hour, Amy, but we think we may have found the reason for your current situation, and what we discovered couldn't wait."

The atmosphere in the room turned suddenly tense; Zack had a sudden, irrational flash of some horrible secret she had hidden, like being a serial killer, while Amy was on edge to learn the reason why her life had been ripped apart.

"It took a lot of digging, but everything you told us about your identity checked out," Sinclair started, walking over to his view screen and switching it on, revealing her file. "However, we found one thing you neglected to tell us that you may not have known about or thought important."

"What is it?" Amy asked, her tone both weary and confused.

"When you enlisted in the army, do you remember giving any DNA samples?"

"Vaguely…the idea was to have the DNA of every soldier on file, so if they were killed in combat, like in an explosion, they would be able to identify the remains using the DNA on file," she replied. "Why?"

"Well…" Sinclair hesitated a moment before answering. "Apparently those samples weren't only used for those purposes. In our digging, we learned that in your time, there was a secret government agency that looked for people with certain genetic markers. The markers they looked for had to do with special abilities…I believe in your time, the people that carried this gene were called psychics."

"Are you freaking kidding me?" Amy exclaimed, scrambling to her feet awkwardly. Inwardly, Zack was both relieved and confused. Psychic? That term didn't seem to fit Amy at all. She started hobbling to and fro, obviously agitated about what she had been told. "I mean, you're telling me they grabbed me from that car accident and stuck me in a freezer because I could see two of my kindergarten classmates using me as the rope in tug-of-war on the playground days before they actually did it?"

Sinclair and Zack shared a stunned look; she had confirmed their findings, but she seemed to find her abilities completely irrelevant. Zack had heard of psychics before, but the images of cheesy commercials in vids had implanted the idea that they were all quacks or con artists. Nothing could have prepared him for the comparison she had made—it sounded ridiculous when she worded it that way, but surely there had been more to it?

"So you really are psychic?" Zack asked, his voice incredulous. The question made Amy snort as she kept up her uneven pacing.

"Yeah, right," she huffed, her tone dripping with sarcasm. "I could tell you the winning numbers of the next lottery draw, read your palm, and tell you who you'll marry and how you'll die…it's the biggest load of bullshit I've ever heard! I saw **_little_** things! **_Past tense!_** I haven't seen anything since I was a kid, and even then I only saw mundane, everyday crap! Practically nobody knew about it, because I never said anything because it wasn't **_important_**!"

Her frustration started to fizzle out, and both Zack and Sinclair could see the pain and grief of her situation begin to resurface. Hesitantly, Zack stood up and walked over to her, and she leaned into his uncertain, comforting touch as her eyes watered again. Sinclair hesitated for a moment before giving the rest of the information he'd found.

"Apparently, this agency was disbanded around the time of your ship's launch…the cover for the ship was that it was supposed to be a shuttle bound for Mars, since we were colonizing at the time, but when the ship never reached the planet, it was reported as lost and that was that. However, we learned from studying the system on the ship that it was never meant to reach Mars, as I expected from speaking with you…the government in place at the time simply wanted a convenient excuse to dispose of all the people they had in cryostasis."

Zack could feel Amy start trembling at Sinclair's words, and he couldn't even begin to imagine what she was feeling, although he certainly tried. After all, being torn from your family—your _**children**_—and being put in cryostasis involuntarily, then being shot into space to hide the government's dirty secret of what they'd done, all because you had visions of mundane events as a child? It was incomprehensible to both men in the room, yet the reality was right there in the room with them, now crying into the security officer's shoulder.

"I should probably get her back to my quarters, sir…was there anything else?" Zack asked as he gingerly led her toward the door. The commander shook his head, so the security officer turned away and focused on the woman in his arms as he tried to soothe her with no effect. A few moments after they left, Ivanova walked in, and Sinclair sank back down in his chair, exhausted both from the late hour and the meeting that had just ended.

"Commander, I just learned something that I found deeply disturbing, and I thought you would want to know as well," she began, then truly looked at her friend. "Jeff, you look horrible…have you talked to Amy yet?"

"She and Zack just left a moment before you arrived…she confirmed what we learned about the conspiracy, about her having visions, but she claims that she only had them as a child, and everything she saw was ordinary, everyday events. Needless to say, I'm pretty sure it only upset her even more," Sinclair stated, rubbing his temple to fend off the headache building. "What'd you find?"

"The agency that abducted her?" Susan began, but hesitated due to the lump in her throat that formed whenever she tried to speak of the one taboo subject in her life. Jeff noticed her hesitation and looked up, surprised to find a somewhat sad expression on her face.

"What about it? What is it, Susan?" he pried gently, shaking his second out of the silence she had fallen into.

"The agency?…it was a precursor of PsiCorps."


	6. Chapter Five

**A/N:** Okay, I feel like I should give you guys the heads-up…this chapter goes into self-mutilation and cutting, so if you're squeamish about those things or if those are triggers for you, you might want to consider skipping this chapter. It's pretty short, so you won't be missing much. Sorry it's so short, I've been going nuts between work and home, haven't had much time to work on any of my stories.

Chapter Five

Zack felt uneasy as he returned to his quarters for lunch, takeout in hand. Amy had taken the news from Sinclair hard the night before, and he'd been reluctant to leave when he had to report for duty that morning; technically, she was still on suicide watch, even though she hadn't made any move to harm herself, but so much had been revealed in the past two days that he worried for her.

When he opened the door to his quarters and walked in, his sense of foreboding increased tenfold; Amy was nowhere to be seen, but the doors to the bedroom were closed. Holding his breath, he set the food down on the counter and walked to the double doors, then quietly opened them.

Amy was sitting with her back against the wall, a lost look in her lifeless eyes. As Zack's feet carried him to her without conscious thought, he took in the details and shuddered inwardly…her left hand held a knife from the kitchen, and the inside of her right forearm was cut in several places. Her eyes were focused loosely on the blood dripping from her arm, which he thankfully realized was surprisingly lacking in quantity. She didn't look at him until he pulled the knife out of her hand and put it safely out of reach, and when she did, she had tears in her eyes.

"Why?" he asked softly, even though he felt completely stupid asking such a question. She gave him a sad attempt at a smile.

"Balance…physical pain makes the rest easier to deal with," she said simply, not moving as he ran to get a towel from the bathroom, then wrapped her injured arm with it. "I wasn't trying to kill myself, you know…if I had, I'd be dead."

The blunt, matter-of-fact tone she used ripped at his chest. _**Nobody**__ should have to feel what she's feeling—nobody should have to have their lives screwed up this bad to where they hurt themselves,_ he thought to himself as he removed the towel and checked the cuts. As she had claimed, they were superficial at best, having barely breached the skin to be able to bleed. Still, it was disturbing to say the least, and if he didn't say anything and she decided to take things further, he'd never be able to forgive himself, not to mention the berating he would get from Dr. Franklin, the Chief, and probably the commander and lieutenant commander as well. With all that in mind, he hit his link.

"Security to Franklin."

"Franklin here."

"Doc, it's Zack…I'm bringing Amy back in…looks like you were right."

"What's her status?" He studied her for a long moment; he knew she hadn't taken any additional meds while he was gone because he'd kept them in his pocket, but she seemed pretty disconnected from reality.

"Several cuts to her arm…they look superficial, but pretty sure they're self-inflicted…I wanted to get her checked out, just in case."

"Okay, bring her in," came the harried reply; Zack could only guess that he was feeling the same frustration and worry. Amy hadn't spoken at all during the communication, hadn't acknowledged that she was even aware it had happened…after only a second's hesitation, he picked her up from the floor and carried her out the door, leaving her crutch and the forgotten food behind.


	7. Chapter Six

**A/N:** Holy smokes! 966 hits for this story at last count, and that's not even counting the visitors! You guys are amazing! Okay, despite what happens in this chapter, there is no actual connection between Amy and the Shadows. I fudged the timeline just a bit, so that the attack on Quadrant 37 was about a week or two before the New Year instead of on it, and she's seeing it a few days beforehand. Also, finally bringing in some of the other characters I promised, and I think all of them act pretty much in character. If any of it seems a bit off, feel free to let me know! Have fun, and please review!

Chapter Six

Zack stared through the window at Amy; Dr. Franklin had confirmed his initial assessment of her injuries, merely cleaning and bandaging them, but she had been checked back in to Medlab due to her catatonic state. After learning of how much she had lost and the reasons why, the security officer's heart ached for her, and he found himself wishing that he could do anything to take that pain away from her, but he knew it would be impossible.

"Mister Allen?" an inquisitive female voice asked softly. He turned around and was surprised to see Ambassador Delenn standing there, along with Lennier.

"Can I help you, Ambassador?"

"The commander and Dr. Franklin have informed me about the woman currently staying with you," she said without preamble, her choice of words making his mind flash briefly to irreverent thoughts before she continued. "I wish to offer my assistance, if I may."

"Really?" He was genuinely surprised. "I didn't think you'd have the time-"

"The bereaved, in my opinion, takes precedence over more trivial affairs," she said firmly, cutting him off. Her tone then turned gentle again. "In temple, we were taught compassion, to reach out to those who are ill or grieving and assist them in any way possible. For me to be aware of her situation and not wish to help would be a violation of everything I have been raised to believe."

"Also, for the appointments that cannot be postponed, I would be happy to stay with her as well," Lennier spoke up. "From what we have been told, she will require constant supervision, so we are willing to spend as much time with her as may be required, as your duties prevent you from doing so yourself."

Zack thought about the offer for a moment. He was extremely grateful that they wished to help, but he wasn't sure how she would react to the fact that they weren't human. Amy only had a vague knowledge of the other races on the station, but she hadn't had direct contact with any of them yet. Still, from what little he knew of Ambassador Delenn and Lennier, they might be better able to help her than he would, and she didn't have the ingrained prejudice toward Minbari that most humans had because of the war, so why not? It would be a huge weight off his shoulders to know that someone was keeping an eye on her while he was on duty.

"Thank you, Ambassador…you have no idea how grateful I am," he replied, making both of them smile. "When she's released from Medlab, I'll let you know so we can figure out a time to meet, okay?"

"That will be fine," she said, then both Minbari bowed to Zack and took their leave again. Zack turned his attention to Amy again, who had just closed her eyes; he wanted so badly to help her, but he had no idea how. After all, how would anybody be able to do anything if she was either catatonic or unconscious?

"You look like somebody shot your dog," a familiar voice spoke up beside him. Zack turned to look at his boss with a frown. "Still playing next-of-kin?"

"I just wish I knew how to help her, Chief," the younger man said, turning back to Amy. Michael shrugged, turning to look at the woman as well.

"You know, she's kinda cute…I haven't seen her vertical yet, but for a younger woman? Definitely cute," the older man chimed in, making Zack give him a scathing look.

"Come on Chief, you know it ain't like that!" he protested. "What kind of scumbag do you think I am, anyway?"

"I don't, but I hear things," Michael replied simply. "She could've latched onto anyone—Dr. Franklin, Talia, anyone—but you're the only one she's opened up to at all so far…hell, she's staying in your quarters, so that's gotta show some level of trust there, right?"

Zack sighed heavily…he'd only been on the station a few weeks before Amy's ship had been salvaged, but he was already familiar with the older man's unusual perspective, and he knew it was no use trying to argue with him because he would believe what he wanted until the sun exploded or until he had hard proof to the contrary, whichever came first.

"I don't know if it's trust or if she just doesn't care about anything, but I have a feeling that right now she doesn't care," he said quietly as he watched Dr. Franklin walk into her room and perform another scan of her neural activity. Almost immediately, he realized something was wrong…when he realized the doctor had switched to more specialized tests, he rushed into the room.

"What is it, Doc?" Michael asked, beating Zack to the punch. The doctor didn't even spare them a glance as he stared at the information on the monitors.

"I don't know…there's some strange neural activity I've never seen before—it only started a moment ago. Before that, her neural activity was on par for a trauma victim," Franklin stated, his focus intensifying on the screen. As Zack stared at Amy, he saw her eyes moving rapidly beneath her eyelids, but he knew she couldn't have fallen asleep that quickly. Even if she had and she was dreaming, the chief medical officer would've recognized the brain activity as such.

"What the hell does that mean?" Zack asked, looking back to the doctor.

"There are several areas of her brain that are incredibly active…those places are normally associated with dreams, emotion…and the part that controls cognition has five times the activity of a conscious human," he said, sounding surprised at his findings. "That doesn't make sense, though…I mean, she was catatonic until a moment ago, and now she appears to be asleep or unconscious. How the hell is that possible?"

Zack's mind went back to their meeting with the commander the night before. Her words echoed in his mind, and a chill ran down his spine when he realized what was happening.

"She's seeing something," he whispered, making both men look at him.

"What do you mean, she's seeing something?" Garibaldi demanded.

"Commander Sinclair called us into his office last night…apparently there was some government conspiracy going on back in her time, and the whole reason she was put in cryostasis was because her DNA profile indicated that she was psychic. She was just as shocked as I was, but she confirmed the theory…thing is, she said she hadn't seen anything since she was a kid, and all she saw was little stuff, stupid stuff that didn't have any real effect on anything," the younger security officer admitted. This information made the security chief look even more surprised, while dawning comprehension was apparent on the doctor's face.

"So you're saying she's having some kind of vision right now?" Garibaldi asked, incredulity straining his voice.

"That could be…I've never seen anything like this before, but that sounds like as good a theory for it as anything I could come up with," Franklin chimed in, then looked thoughtful. "The real question is, is this a coincidence or was she lying about her abilities fading away?"

Before anyone could think to attempt an answer, Amy's eyes snapped open and she bolted upright, nearly falling off the table in the process. All three men grabbed her to keep her steady, but as soon as Zack saw her expression, he knew whatever had snapped her back to reality hadn't been pleasant. Her breathing was ragged and shallow as if she'd run the length of the station, and the look on her face and in her eyes was one of pure horror. When the others let go, Zack held on, and her eyes finally showed a glimmer of recognition as they locked on his face.

"You with me?" he asked gently, releasing his hold with one hand to brush the hair back from her face. After a moment, she swallowed hard and nodded.

"Nightmare," she finally gasped out, still trying to get her breathing under control. She flinched when Dr. Franklin suddenly stuck a needle in her arm without warning. "What the hell did you do?"

"A mild sedative to help you relax…you look like you need it," he said simply, then looked at her with more concern and curiosity. "What kind of nightmare?"

"Horrible," she breathed out. Zack could see that the sedative was starting to take effect because her breathing finally evened out and she seemed much calmer than she probably would've been without it so soon after waking up. "An alien outpost was destroyed…it was like I was watching a movie…I mean, the point of view kept jumping around, ya know?"

"What'd the aliens look like?" Garibaldi asked quietly, but Zack heard the underlying tension. Amy didn't seem to notice.

"Humanoid…no hair, spots all over their skin…some of them had red eyes, but others had black eyes," she answered dully, then shuddered. "The whole place was wiped out…men, women, children…thousands of them…all in just a few minutes."

Zack looked up at the other men to find them giving each other nervous looks. All three of them knew the race she described were the Narns, but Zack was certain she hadn't laid eyes on one since she first awoke in Medlab. Still, the Narn were warriors, and despite their bitter rivalry with the Centauri, it was hard to believe that any species would attack one of their outposts and be able to destroy it that quickly.

"What about the ships that attacked them?" Zack asked gently. She shuddered again.

"That was probably the worst part…there were probably five or six…huge, all black, but with this weird sheen to them…looked like a cross between a spider and a crab without the claws…they moved like they were alive…and the scream…" Yet another shudder ran through her at the memory, and she shook her head. "Like something crawled in my brain and started ripping it apart."

That had all of them stumped. They'd seen a lot of alien ships over the years, but nothing like the kind she had described. Of course, the possibility that it was a species unknown to them was impossible to ignore; the station saw new species come into its space nearly every day. On the other hand, there was also the possibility that it had been just what she claimed—a nightmare—but judging from Dr. Franklin's reaction to her neural activity, there was a lingering doubt to that option. After a moment of searching through his desk, the doctor produced a piece of paper and a pencil.

"Think you could draw the ships for us?" he asked. She nodded and took the offering, then started sketching a rough shape.

"I'm a crappy artist…my ex-husband was a lot better at this," she muttered as the pencil moved furiously across the paper. After a moment, she handed it back. "That's about the best I can do…it was pretty simple, no markings or anything, but I can't put on paper the way it moved or came at you."

As the men examined the rough sketch, they realized her description was pretty accurate to what she had drawn. It was creepy, to say the least. After a moment, Zack cleared his throat and looked at her again.

"You ready to get out of here?" he asked gently, then remembered the offer from Ambassador Delenn. "There's somebody I think you'd like to meet."


End file.
